Embodiments of the present invention relate to the fields of microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip, Polymerase Chain Reactions (“PCR”), biochemical analysis, protein crystallization and screening for protein crystallization conditions, microfabrication, laboratory robotics, immunoassays, and automated biological screening and analysis, among others.
Microfluidic devices can be defined as devices having one or more fluidic pathways, often called channels, microchannels, trenches, lines, or recesses, having a cross-sectional dimension below 1000 μm, and which offer benefits such as increased throughput and reduction of reaction volumes. Relatedly, there is a continuing trend toward increasing the number of reactions that can be performed with a microfluidic device. For example, it is often desirable to provide devices having a high density of reaction chambers. Despite significant recent advances in microfluidic technology, existing fabrication techniques often present obstacles which preclude the development of even more efficient devices.
Hence, there remains a continuing need for improved manufacturing methods for producing microfluidic devices having a higher density of reaction or detection zones per unit area of the microfluidic device. At least some of these objectives will be met by embodiments of the present invention.